The Mirae Asset Asia Bond Fund is a sub-fund of the Mirae Asset Global Discovery Fund, a Luxembourg-domiciled Ucits.
However, it is not authorised by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and is not available to retail investors in the special administrative region.
Exposure
Benchmarked against the JP Morgan Asia Credit Index and focusing primarily on short to medium duration investment grade credit, the fund will also gain exposure to government, supranational and high-yield names.
According to Mirae, macroeconomic fundamentals across Asia are rapidly strengthening, and the region continues to display high growth potential and resilience to external risks.
As an increasing number of corporates look to raise finance through the issuance of bonds, credit markets are getting deeper and ongoing improvements in credit quality means that investors have far greater opportunities for diversification.
Compared against developed markets, Mirae believes the current valuations of Asian bonds are compelling, and demand for hard currency-denominated bonds remains high due to their lower levels of volatility vis-à-vis local currency names.
Strategy
The fund will be managed by Jin Ha Kim, head of global fixed income investments at Mirae Asset Global Investments, who has over 16 years of fixed income investment experience in Asia.
He will be supported by a team of 27 investment professionals in Korea, Hong Kong, India, Taiwan and the United States.
Portfolio construction will be driven by a blend of rigorous macro and fundamental analysis, leveraging upon the deep experience of the Mirae Asset Global Investments Group in managing global, emerging markets and Asian fixed income portfolios.
Kim said: “We see significant opportunities for growth in Asian bonds due to a favorable macroeconomic outlook, as well as attractive yields, improving financial discipline of credit issuers and lower volatility compared to bonds of other emerging markets.
“The Mirae Asset Asia Bond Fund will bring together our extensive network of talented credit analysts and macro strategists, who will work collaboratively to identify the best investment opportunities across the region.”
Jung Ho Rhee, president and chief executive of Mirae Asset Global Investments (Hong Kong), said: “We are delighted to expand the fixed income offering within our Ucits range and demonstrate our ongoing commitment to offer leading Asia and emerging markets-focused investment solutions to our clients.”
